- Human beings naturally surround themselves
with people who think like they do.
Think of your own circle of friends.
Most of them share similar world views, perspectives,
or you have some shared experiences.
That's why it's so tempting
to fill your five to seven person brainstorm
with people who think like you.
There's less risk of judgment,
less risk of disagreement, more affirmation.
But it's imperative that you stave off this temptation
because your brainstorm session will be more successful,
if you fill out your Stormer roster
with people who think differently than you do,
participant selection is one of the most crucial parts
to a brainstorming strategy.
It's normal to think that more people
from the creative department
participating in your brainstorm will yield more ideas.
But the truth is, everyone has a unique perspective
and their own life experiences.
So bring in people from different departments
in your organization,
even bring people in from outside your company.
The further way these perspectives
and experiences are to the other participants, the better.
The only prerequisite for an ideal brainstorming candidate
should be their willingness to say stupid things.
Remember, your goal is possibility, not solution.
Possibility means that there are times
when ideas aren't fully formed, in these instances,
participants have to be willing to express ideas
without knowing exactly how to describe them.
These become the seeds of ideas,
and these seeds are often grown by someone else in the group
when they apply their own perspective
and experience to that idea seed.
Fill your room with people who are willing to talk
through these rough ideas with each other,
and you'll leave with more possibilities.